In a judgment handed down on Wednesday 9 July (joined cases T-163/23 and T-167/23), the General Court of the European Union upheld the December 2022 decision of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) identifying melamine as a substance of very high concern with probable serious effects on human health and the environment within the meaning of the ‘REACH’ Regulation (1907/2006), which governs the evaluation and authorisation of chemical substances in the EU.
Several companies producing or using melamine, both within and outside the EU, contested this decision, which was taken following a referral from the German competent authority and unanimous support from the ECHA Member State Committee.
According to the General Court, ECHA did not make a manifest error in its assessment of the intrinsic properties of the substance at issue. The environmental effects associated with melamine’s properties, such as its persistence, mobility and potential for long-range transport, could therefore be taken into account in determining whether this substance could have serious effects on human health or the environment, the Court ruled.
In addition, the European Court rejected the complainants’ argument that their right to be heard during the procedure for adopting ECHA’s decision had not been respected. It notes that the REACH Regulation does not in fact guarantee such a right, but merely provides for public consultation, which does not confer any specific procedural right other than that to submit comments.
See the General Court’s judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/hry (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)